Strategy, Leadership, and Narratives: Data Viz for Policy Change
Jared E. Knowles
May 6, 2014
Outline
- This talk will focus on 5 graphics as an illustration of the principals of policy focused data visualization
The Principles
Know thy data, and know thy audience better.
- What is their question?
- What is their timeframe?
- What are their constraints?
- What is their capacity?
On Audience
Your audience can understand much more than you may think. It is all in how you lead them there.
Yahbut - too much data
Yahbut - too many priorities
Under pressure
Yahbut - unclear direction
The Way Out
- Identify your goals (strategy)
- Explore your data and focus (analysis)
- Focus even narrower (leadership)
- Find the context (context)
- Put it together (presentation)
Use the data to make a visualization that presents an argument supported by evidence.
Strategy: What can this data say?
Wisconsin FRL Map
Of Metrics and Dashboards
Widgets provide limited connection to strategy.
Analyze your data to find the meaning
What is the goal of this graphic?
Word cloud, or clouded message?
What did we learn?
- The words obviously and education were used a lot
- Some other words were frequent too
- What do the colors mean?
What value have we provided?
Exploratory vs. Explanatory
Exploratory graphics are what we use to understand the features of a dataset
Explanatory graphics are polished and annotated graphics that convey a fact or argument clearly
Exploratory
Explanatory
What have we learned?
- Strong link between ACT and WKCE scores
- Not only does the mode shift with WKCE percentile, but the variation shifts as well
- Low WKCE scores mean a low chance at meeting the ACT benchmark
An aside on complexity
- Yes, these graphics are more complex
- Explaining one complex graphic to the audience with a strong meaning is powerful
- Many superficial graphics have a harder time conveying a strong message
- In education we are fortunate to have smart audiences
Leadership means making the point clear
